Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'distribute' holds a significant place in our vocabulary, denoting the action of sharing or dispersing things or people in a particular manner. This concept has been culturally important across various civilizations, from the Roman Empire's food distribution systems to modern supply chain management.
Interestingly, the term 'distribute' has been adopted in various fields such as mathematics, statistics, and computer science, emphasizing its versatility and influence. Moreover, understanding the translation of 'distribute' in different languages can provide valuable insights into how diverse cultures perceive and handle the concept.
For instance, the Spanish translation of 'distribute' is 'distribuir', while in French, it is 'distribuer'. In German, the word is 'verteilen', and in Mandarin Chinese, it is '分配' (fēnpiàn).
Exploring these translations not only broadens your linguistic abilities but also offers a glimpse into the unique ways different cultures approach the idea of distribution.
Afrikaans | versprei | ||
The etymology of "versprei" comes from Dutch, and its original meaning was "to spread straw." | |||
Amharic | አሰራጭ | ||
The word "አሰራጭ" can also mean "to make public" or "to expose", with the latter often used in the context of revealing a secret or crime. | |||
Hausa | rarraba | ||
The word "rarraba" in Hausa may also refer to the concept of "sharing" or "dividing something among multiple people". | |||
Igbo | kesaa | ||
The Igbo word `kesaa` also means `to give alms, to share a portion, to give freely` | |||
Malagasy | zarao | ||
Zarao is also used with the meanings of: disseminate, spread out, strew, sprinkle or scatter (e.g. seeds) | |||
Nyanja (Chichewa) | kugawira | ||
"Kugwira" can also mean "to give"} | |||
Shona | govera | ||
In some dialects, govera can also mean "divide" or "share". | |||
Somali | qaybi | ||
The word "qaybi" in Somali can also refer to "a share". | |||
Sesotho | aba | ||
"Aba" can also mean to put or to pour in Sesotho. | |||
Swahili | kusambaza | ||
The noun **kusambaza** is originally from the Arabic verb ‘*sammaz*’ meaning ‘to nail’, ‘*kusummuzu*’ a nail in its verbal noun. | |||
Xhosa | usasaze | ||
"Usasaze" is derived from the Proto-Bantu root "-sas-", commonly used to denote the concept of "scattering" or "dispersing." | |||
Yoruba | kaakiri | ||
The word "kaakiri" also means "everywhere" or "throughout" in Yoruba. | |||
Zulu | ukusabalalisa | ||
"Ukusabalalisa" also connotes "to spread apart, scatter, or disseminate." | |||
Bambara | tila-tila | ||
Ewe | mamae | ||
Kinyarwanda | gukwirakwiza | ||
Lingala | kokabola | ||
Luganda | okugabanya | ||
Sepedi | aba | ||
Twi (Akan) | kyekyɛ | ||
Arabic | نشر | ||
The word "نشر" originates from the Arabic root "ن ص ر" meaning "to support" or "to help" and thus also has a secondary meaning of "to spread out" or "to disperse". | |||
Hebrew | לְהָפִיץ | ||
The verb 'לְהָפִיץ' also means to 'disperse', a cognate to the Akkadian 'pašāšu', 'to spread'. | |||
Pashto | توزیع | ||
In Pashto, "توزیع" also means "to distribute something into specific shares" and derives from the verb "وزیرول" (to distribute). | |||
Arabic | نشر | ||
The word "نشر" originates from the Arabic root "ن ص ر" meaning "to support" or "to help" and thus also has a secondary meaning of "to spread out" or "to disperse". |
Albanian | shpërndaj | ||
'Shpërndaj' comes from Late Latin 'dispendere' which means 'to spend.' | |||
Basque | banatu | ||
The word 'banatu' has a Proto-Basque origin and is related to the words 'banaketa' (distribution) and 'banatzaile' (distributor). | |||
Catalan | distribuir | ||
The word "distribuir" derives from the Latin "distribuere", meaning "to separate, divide, or share out". | |||
Croatian | raspodijeliti | ||
The verb "raspodijeliti" comes from the Old Slavonic word "razdeliti", which means "to divide or separate". | |||
Danish | distribuere | ||
The Danish verb 'distribuere' derives from the Latin word 'distribuere' and retains the meaning of dividing something among several people or places. | |||
Dutch | distribueren | ||
The word "distribueren" comes from the Latin word "distribuere" which means to "divide" or "share out". | |||
English | distribute | ||
The word 'distribute' originates from the Latin 'distribuere', meaning to assign or divide among several recipients. | |||
French | distribuer | ||
In French, the word 'distributeur' can also mean 'vending machine'. | |||
Frisian | distribuearje | ||
The Frisian word "distribuearje" comes from the Latin word "distribuere," meaning "to divide or allot." | |||
Galician | distribuír | ||
The Galician verb "distribuír" also means "to apportion", "to deal out", or "to divide something amongst several recipients." | |||
German | verteilen | ||
The word "verteilen" in German is derived from the Old High German "farteljan" and can also mean to "share out" or to "divide up." | |||
Icelandic | dreifa | ||
Dreifa likely comes from an Old Norse verb meaning "to drive" and originally referred to distributing flocks to summer pastures. | |||
Irish | dháileadh | ||
Italian | distribuire | ||
The Italian verb "distribuire" also means "to divide" or "to share out". | |||
Luxembourgish | verdeelen | ||
In the 15th century, "verdeelen" was used to describe the action of sharing loot between soldiers, highlighting the word's original connotation of dispersion. | |||
Maltese | tqassam | ||
The origin of the Maltese word "tqassam" is uncertain but could be linked to the Arabic word "qassama", or it may be related to the Italian "distribuire". | |||
Norwegian | distribuere | ||
In Norwegian, "distribuere" also means "divide", "disperse", "share out" and "distribute". | |||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | distribuir | ||
In Portuguese, the word "distribuir" also means to share or allot. | |||
Scots Gaelic | sgaoileadh | ||
"Sgaoileadh" can also mean "to disperse, to scatter, to send out, to circulate" | |||
Spanish | distribuir | ||
The word "distribuir" is derived from the Latin word "distribuere," meaning "divide" or "share." | |||
Swedish | distribuera | ||
The Swedish word "distribuera" is a loanword from the Latin word "distribuere," which means "to distribute," "to divide," or "to apportion." | |||
Welsh | dosbarthu | ||
Dosbarthu can also mean 'to divide', 'to deal', or 'to distribute shares or dividends'. |
Belarusian | распаўсюджваць | ||
This verb also means "to convey". | |||
Bosnian | distribuirati | ||
The verb 'distribuirati' can also refer to the action of spreading something over an area. | |||
Bulgarian | разпределя | ||
The verb "разпределя" in Bulgarian comes from the root "-пре-." This root has the meaning of "to cross" or "to pass through" and it is also found in other Slavic verbs such as "пересечь" in Russian, "preko" in Croatian, and "przez" in Polish. | |||
Czech | distribuovat | ||
The word "distribuovat" can also mean "to allot" or "to assign". | |||
Estonian | levitada | ||
The word "levitada" is derived from the Latin word "levitare", meaning "to lighten" or "to lift up." | |||
Finnish | jakaa | ||
Jakaa derives from the Proto-Finnic "*jakaa", which also meant "to sow". | |||
Hungarian | terjeszteni | ||
The word "terjeszteni" is derived from the Old Hungarian word "terjedni," meaning "to spread" or "to extend." | |||
Latvian | izplatīt | ||
The word "izplatīt" also means "to spread" or "to disseminate" in English. | |||
Lithuanian | paskirstyti | ||
The word 'paskirstyti' comes from the Proto-Indo-European root *per-, meaning 'to carry'. It shares this root with the English words 'ferry' and 'port'. | |||
Macedonian | дистрибуира | ||
In addition to its literal meaning, the Macedonian word "дистрибуира" can also refer to the act of sending out propaganda or disseminating information. | |||
Polish | rozprowadzać | ||
Rozprowadzać is also used to mean "to spread out" or "to scatter" in Polish. | |||
Romanian | distribui | ||
"Distribui" is a verb of French origin that also means "to distribute water to fields, to irrigate" | |||
Russian | раздавать | ||
The word "раздавать" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "*razdati", meaning "to give" or "to divide". | |||
Serbian | дистрибуирати | ||
The word "дистрибуирати" (distribute) comes from the Latin word "distribuere", meaning "to divide or spread out." | |||
Slovak | distribuovať | ||
V latinčine slovo distribuere znamená „rodeliť“, ale aj „odmerať“, „rozdeliť na diely“, alebo „priniesť“. | |||
Slovenian | distribuirati | ||
The word "distribuirati" can also mean "to divide" or "to allocate" in Slovenian. | |||
Ukrainian | розподілити | ||
The word "розподілити" derives from the Proto-Slavic word *raz-dĕl-i-ti, meaning "to divide or allocate." |
Bengali | বিতরণ | ||
The verb "বিতরণ" also means "explaining the meaning of a word" and is commonly used while teaching the scriptures in the Hindu religion. | |||
Gujarati | વહેચણી | ||
The word "વહેચણી" in Gujarati also refers to a type of pulley system used to draw water from a well. | |||
Hindi | वितरित करना | ||
The word 'वितरित करना' derives from the Sanskrit root 'वि', meaning 'apart', and 'त्रि', meaning 'three', signifying the act of dividing something into parts and distributing it. | |||
Kannada | ವಿತರಿಸಿ | ||
"ವಿತರಿಸಿ" is also used to describe distributing one's attention or allocating resources. | |||
Malayalam | വിതരണം ചെയ്യുക | ||
Marathi | वितरित | ||
The word 'वितरित' (vitrit) is a Sanskrit loan word and is cognate with the English word 'distribute'. | |||
Nepali | वितरण | ||
वितरण ("distribute") shares the root 'वि' (dis-), suggesting dispersion. | |||
Punjabi | ਵੰਡੋ | ||
The word "ਵੰਡੋ" in Punjabi likely originates from the Sanskrit word "वितरति" (vitrati), meaning "to distribute" or "to scatter." | |||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) | බෙදාහැරීම | ||
Tamil | விநியோகிக்கவும் | ||
Telugu | పంపిణీ | ||
The word "పంపిణీ" also means "to supply" or "to provide". | |||
Urdu | تقسیم | ||
The word "تقسیم" (taqsīm) also means "division" in Urdu, derived from the Arabic root "قسم" (q-s-m), meaning "to cut" or "to divide". |
Chinese (Simplified) | 分发 | ||
The word 分发 comes from the classical Chinese word 分派, meaning to assign, deploy, or send. | |||
Chinese (Traditional) | 分發 | ||
"分發" can also mean "to appoint or assign to a position or task." | |||
Japanese | 分配します | ||
"分配します" can also refer to the process of allocating or assigning something, such as a task or a budget. | |||
Korean | 배포하다 | ||
The word '배포하다' comes from the Chinese word '布' meaning 'to spread out' and was originally used in the context of military deployment. | |||
Mongolian | түгээх | ||
Түгээх in Mongolian can also mean to scatter, to spread, or to disperse. | |||
Myanmar (Burmese) | ဖြန့်ဝေ | ||
Indonesian | mendistribusikan | ||
The word "mendistribusikan" in Indonesian comes from the Dutch word "distribueren" which means "to distribute". | |||
Javanese | nyebarake | ||
The Javanese word "nyebarake" is thought to be derived from the Proto-Austronesian word for rice that is strewn during a ritual to appease the gods. | |||
Khmer | ចែកចាយ | ||
បុព្វបុរសខ្មែរដែលកើតនៅស្រីស្នាអាចជាម្ចាស់ចំណងយាមការចែកចាយនាទីរវាងពួកគេនិងអ្នកនៅជ្រោយថាញ់រួចយកឈ្មោះនគរនោះហៅឈ្មោះពួកគេ เผยให้เห็นว่าคนเขมรโบราณที่เกิดที่ Sri Snam อาจจะเป็นผู้คิดค้นระบบการแบ่งเวลาระหว่างพวกเขากับคนที่อยู่บนภูเขา Dang แล้วนำชื่อเมืองนั้นมาเป็นชื่อเรียกพวกเขา เผยให้เห็นว่าคนเขมรโบราณที่เกิดที่ Sri Snam อาจจะเป็นผู้คิดค้นระบบการแบ่งเวลาระหว่างพวกเขากับคนที่อยู่บนภูเขา Dang แล้วนำชื่อเมืองนั้นมาเป็นชื่อเรียกพวกเขา | |||
Lao | ແຈກຢາຍ | ||
Malay | mengedar | ||
The word "mengedar" (distribute) is derived from the Proto-Austronesian root "*daReŋ" meaning "to be scattered"} | |||
Thai | แจกจ่าย | ||
The word "แจกจ่าย" is derived from the Sanskrit word "dā", meaning "to give". | |||
Vietnamese | phân phát | ||
The word "phân phát" in Vietnamese also has the meaning of "distributing something to each person or group according to their needs or circumstances." | |||
Filipino (Tagalog) | ipamahagi | ||
Azerbaijani | paylamaq | ||
The word "paylamaq" is derived from the Proto-Turkic verb "*pay-", meaning "to divide, to distribute, to share". | |||
Kazakh | тарату | ||
The word "тарату" is derived from the root "тар", meaning "to scatter" or "to spread". | |||
Kyrgyz | таратуу | ||
The Kyrgyz word "таратуу" also has a secondary meaning of "to break up" or "to scatter." | |||
Tajik | тақсим кардан | ||
The Persian loanword "тақсим кардан" also means "to divide" or "to share out". | |||
Turkmen | paýla | ||
Uzbek | tarqatmoq | ||
The word "tarqatmoq" is derived from the Arabic word "tarjamaq", meaning "to interpret" or "to translate". | |||
Uyghur | تارقىتىڭ | ||
Hawaiian | mahele | ||
The Hawaiian word "mahele" can also mean "portion, share, division, or allotment, and it comes from the Proto-Austronesian root word *maqaR-, which means "to give". | |||
Maori | tohatoha | ||
The word 'tohatoha' also means 'to cut up', 'to divide', or 'to share out'. | |||
Samoan | tufatufa | ||
The word 'tufatufa' also has the meanings 'to spread out' and 'to scatter'. | |||
Tagalog (Filipino) | ipamahagi | ||
Ipamahagi derives from the Proto-Austronesian root *paRi "to give, distribute" (also the source of English "present"). |
Aymara | jaljaña | ||
Guarani | omosarambi | ||
Esperanto | distribui | ||
"Distribui" also means "to assign" in Esperanto. | |||
Latin | distribute | ||
The Latin verb 'distribuo' also has the meaning of 'assign, allot' and is related to the noun 'distribus', which means 'division'. |
Greek | διανέμω | ||
The verb διανέμω, ultimately derived from ἀνέμω 'to winnow', meant 'to divide in portions', 'to distribute', 'to divide amongst several', 'to dole out' and so on. | |||
Hmong | faib faib | ||
The Hmong word "faib faib" not only means "distribute" but also refers to the process of sharing or giving away something. | |||
Kurdish | belavkirin | ||
The Kurdish word "belavkirin" shares the same root with "belkirin," meaning "to give" or "to share." | |||
Turkish | dağıtmak | ||
"Dağıtmak" can also mean "to break up" or "to dispel" in Turkish, deriving from the Proto-Turkic verb "daγıt-" with the same meaning. | |||
Xhosa | usasaze | ||
"Usasaze" is derived from the Proto-Bantu root "-sas-", commonly used to denote the concept of "scattering" or "dispersing." | |||
Yiddish | פאַרשפּרייטן | ||
The Yiddish word פאַרשפּרייטן ('distribute') ultimately derives from the Proto-Indo-European root *sper-, meaning 'to scatter, to sow'. | |||
Zulu | ukusabalalisa | ||
"Ukusabalalisa" also connotes "to spread apart, scatter, or disseminate." | |||
Assamese | বিতৰণ কৰা | ||
Aymara | jaljaña | ||
Bhojpuri | बांटल जाला | ||
Dhivehi | ބަހާށެވެ | ||
Dogri | बंड दे | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) | ipamahagi | ||
Guarani | omosarambi | ||
Ilocano | iwaras | ||
Krio | sheb am | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) | دابەشکردن | ||
Maithili | वितरित करब | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯌꯦꯟꯊꯣꯀꯄꯥ꯫ | ||
Mizo | sem chhuak rawh | ||
Oromo | raabsuu | ||
Odia (Oriya) | ବଣ୍ଟନ କର | | ||
Quechua | rakiy | ||
Sanskrit | वितरन्ति | ||
Tatar | тарату | ||
Tigrinya | ምክፍፋል | ||
Tsonga | hangalasa | ||